High Hampton Inn was built on the site of Confederate Army General Wade Hampton’s family cottage, earning its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Wade Hampton III purchased land from the prominent Zachary family — the Cashiers Historical Society is in the process of restoring the home of Mordecai Zachary, who also lived in Cashiers and helped Hampton build the Hampton Hunting Lodge.

After the war, Hampton sold his property to Dr. William Steward Halsted who had married Hampton’s niece, Caroline. It was then that the name High Hampton was given in recognition of the Hampton family and Halsted’s ancestral lands in England called High Halstead.

However, when the Halsteads died in 1922 there were no heirs to the property. Mr. E. L. McKee purchased it and constructed a two-story inn. A golf course and tennis court soon followed. The property was a commercial operation though the McKees also restored a farmhouse that they often visited on weekends and holidays.

In the spring of 1932, a fire destroyed the farmhouse, Hampton Hunting Lodge and the Inn. Construction of a new inn and several cottages began that fall. The new inn was larger than the original with three stories and a four-sided fireplace.

Over the next 20 years, the McKee’s children grew up, went to college and pursued their own careers. When E.L died in 1952 his sons Bill and Lyndon were named president and vice president of High Hampton Inc. respectively. Lyndon passed away in 1961, though his children acquired 600 acres of the High Hampton Estate and built the Wade Hampton Golf Club to the south.

The property continued to be passed down through the family as Bill’s son William returned to High Hampton after graduating from the Cornell School of Hotel Management in 1982. Today William is the company president and has overseen changes including major renovations and redecoration. The 90 rooms maintain their rustic appeal while aiming to provide renewed comforts such as new linens and mattresses, storage space, fresh furnishings and light fixtures. The inn also has made changes to accommodate dogs in certain rooms and cottages. A new spa offers massage, body treatments, a health club and salon.